


Oh, Christmas Tree, Poe's Christmas Tree

by schuylers



Series: Uneven Odds Poe AU [3]
Category: Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party (Web Series)
Genre: Annapoe - Freeform, As Historically Accurate As I Could Possibly Make It, Christmas Fluff, Poe Party, Poe Party Secret Santa, uneven odds poe au, wellenore - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 09:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8974369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schuylers/pseuds/schuylers
Summary: H.G and Annabel love decorating the house for Christmas.Lenore and Edgar have other ideas.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally my Poe Party Secret Santa gift for tumblr user wolfspirit103 but I thought I'd post it on here too.  
> So, anyway, this fic is dedicated to Laila.  
> Enjoy!

“Since when did Edgar become so invested in Christmas decorations?” Lenore grumbled, stacking boxes on top of each other and passing them to Annabel. “I’ve never seen these boxes in my life.”

“I don’t know,” Annabel put the boxes on the attic floor and took the next pile from her friend. “But he’s just left with HG to go to the market.”

“The market?” Lenore’s forehead crumpled in confusion. “I doubt Edgar knows where the market is. What does he need from the market?”

“He wouldn’t tell me, he said it was a secret.” Annabel couldn’t hide her smile. “Isn’t it just wonderful?!”

“We don’t even know what it is yet.” Lenore opened one of the boxes and peered in. “It’s literally just a ton of coloured tin and glass balls.”

She picked up a green tin snowflake and inspected it cautiously before passing it to Annabel so she could take a look at the curious little ornament for herself.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she sighed.

“You’d say that if I passed you one of Edgar’s mangled ravens.” Lenore rolled her eyes and picked up the boxes again. “Come on, let’s get these downstairs before the others come back. I want to know what’s going on.”

 

* * *

 

“Lenore! Annabel! We’re- oh, you’re already here-“ Edgar poked his head into the study, where both lady ghosts were unpacking the abundance of glass ornaments and laying them out along the bookshelves. Edgar’s study had been transformed into a bizarre Christmassy shrine.

Annabel beamed at Edgar, Lenore had expertly draped her with fine tinsel and she stood in the centre of the room, trying her hardest to balance the silver garlands on her head and shoulders.

“Where’s HG?” Lenore asked, helping Annabel out of her spangled accessories.

“Right here-” A voice called from the hallway and HG’s face appeared next to Edgar’s. “If I could just get some help with the tree-”

“The tree?” Lenore asked, walking into the corridor to see for herself.

“Uh, yes. They’re extremely popular back in Great Britain, you see, well, in fact, the tradition originated in Germany many many years ago but-”

Annabel followed Lenore into the hallway where both were stopped in their tracks at the sight of a magnificent fir tree laying on its side in Edgar’s front porch.

“What the actual heck…” Lenore breathed. “Edgar, this tree is taller than you!”

“This was all HG’s idea.” Edgar protested. “My intention was simply to buy a roasted nut loaf.”

“Ew.”

“For Christmas Day,” He added. “Annabel doesn’t eat meat.”

“I don’t!” Annabel supplied cheerfully. “I think that the tree is a great idea!”

“That’s what these decorations are for.” Edgar swept the glass ornaments off of his precious bookshelves and back into their boxes. “HG has been making them for weeks.”

“You made these?” Lenore asked incredulously. “Seriously?”

HG nodded and continued his hauling of the tree through the hallway, he was quickly joined by the others who helped him drag the snow-coated tree into the corner of the study.

 

* * *

 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lenore asked, watching HG balance atop a ladder, fiddling with several wires. She was feeding one of the wires into a hole in the wall and using her other  hand to keep the ladder stable. “The tree looks great, honestly. That’s all we need to do - Annabel is trying to persuade Edgar to help her make popcorn garlands.”

“I want to make it perfect…” He muttered, tentatively connecting one wire to another.

Lenore sighed and sat on the bottommost step of the ladder, spreading her skirts out. She looked up at HG, who was wearing his trademark half-smile, with his goggles balanced precariously on his head.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt…” She said dejectedly.

“Lenore,” HG suddenly spoke softly, and he made his way down the ladder, taking her hand and leading her to a seat. He looked at her for a minute, his face more solemn than Lenore had ever seen it before. “I am already dead.”

There was a silence - and for a moment, HG worried that he had attempted to make a joke and failed miserably, instead offending Lenore - but then a massive grin spread across her face and she burst out laughing.

“Did you just use one of my own catchphrases against me?” She asked between her laughter.

“I– Well, I suppose I did,” He smiled.

“Fine, we can string lights up - but only if I can turn them on.”

 

* * *

 

“Edgar, are you okay?” Annabel asked. “Do you need some help?”

“I’m completely capable of doing it myself.” Edgar said obstinately, pricking himself with a needle and cursing under his breath. “How do you get these things to go through?”

“You’re just trying to hard,” Annabel took his hands and guided the needle through the popcorn easily. “See? Simple.”

Edgar grumbled to himself as Annabel returned to her own garland, which was ten times the size of Edgar’s pitiful attempt.

Edgar looked at Annabel after they had been silently threading for two minutes. A smile played across her face as she added more and more popped corn from HG’s contraption onto the string. Edgar watched her fingers dart around each piece with a fluidity he never imagined she could posses. He would have to add that to his list of Annabel’s talents.

482\. Expert Popcorn Garland Creator

Annabel glanced up from her crafting and smiled at Edgar.

“Is this not really your kind of activity?”

“Not really, no.” Edgar said, relieved he had been asked a straight question instead of having to spin out a lie.

“Perhaps you could write something Christmassy?”

“That’s not really my style.”

Annabel shrugged, holding up her garland and taking a quick look at Edgar’s.

“Perfect! They’re just the right length!”

They weren’t. But saying otherwise would have been incredibly rude of Annabel.

“I don’t suppose we could find the others? I think HG wants us to take a photograph.”

“Is he still harping on about his caméra? We get that it works! He doesn’t need to keep-”

“A picture of us, Edgar. Of all four of us. I think he wants to send one to Oscar, and to Ernest also.”

“Ugh, really?”

“And according to Lenore, people are saying that Mary Ann has been brought back, along with Agatha.”

Edgar groaned, picturing the amount of time and effort taking the photographs would take, Edgar was a busy man! He had writing to perfect!

“Pleeeaase?”

But how could he say no to Annabel?

 

* * *

  


“Edgar, you are literally stood right in front of me-”

“No, you’re stood right behind me!”

“It’s the same thing! Can you move?”

“I bought the tree, I should be the one in the middle.”

“Yeah, but I put up with you wanting to put a raven on the top, so I should be in the middle.”

“Well no, with that logic, all three of you would have to be in the middle and that’s just ridic-”

Annabel and HG watched their two friends bicker over the positions they would stand in for their Christmas photograph for a full twelve minutes until Annabel interjected.

“Maybe nobody should be in the middle,, Edgar and I will go on one side of the tree, Lenore and HG can go on the other!”

After a grumble from both original residents of Edgar’s home, they shuffled into position as HG prepared his camera.

“On the count of six point five…” HG ran into position next to Lenore and awkwardly pushed an intruding tree branch out of his face before his camera flashed.

“Merry Christmas,” He looked at the Lenore happily after the photograph was taken successfully and kissed her on the forehead.

“Merry Christmas, HG.”


End file.
